With more and more social media platforms adopting and evolving video media, it’s time to embrace the fact that video is the future.
This year, Instagram and Facebook both incorporated hugely popular video sharing features. We have Instagram stories, Instagram live, Instagram TV and of course, Facebook stories. Whether it be short form video sharing or long form video sharing, by 2020, 80% of the content we consume will be video content (Social Media Examiner).
Video has the power to share the unique experiences you have to offer, encapsulate your brand’s essence and attract customers through storytelling.
Show off your gorgeously decorated hotel rooms, the breathtaking views a guest could wake up to, the buzz of your city, and why your hotel is simply the best option out there!
Why Is Video Marketing So Effective?
Video captures your essence, it captures your how and why. It captures the beauty of the moment that a photo can’t.
If you think about it, it makes complete sense that video marketing is on the rise to be one of the most effective marketing strategies out there! With video, a customer can see the product, connect to the voice and personality of the brand and build trust and knowledge about the brand. Video is less likely to blind side the customer into thinking they are opting into something without reliability.
To put it simply, one minute of video is worth 1.8 million words.
Let me say that again, one minute of video is worth 1.8 million words. That’s crazy! Think of all those times you put your blood sweat and tears into a succinct blog post or page description, do you think you would still get those same results?
Another key factor to consider – this one is especially important if you are looking to increase your site ranking and lead generation. Search engines tend to rank videos higher than text content!
High quality video content targeted to your viewers will increase shareability, engagement length and backlinks. If you can create an engaging video, people will be more inclined to stay longer on your webpage and interact with the video. The time spent on your website translates to Google that your page has value and will be better ranked on its listings.
Let’s Look At Your Video Marketing Platforms
There are a few platforms that you can consider for your video content marketing. It can be a bit overwhelming but don’t worry, we’ve broken it down for you:
- YouTube
Here are the facts, YouTube is the second most trafficked website next to Google Views and branded video content has increased by 99%.
(Source: G2Crowd)
When people search for your hotel on YouTube, they are looking to learn about your hotel and to delve into the experience that they can expect. It is key that you take the time to develop content to serve this purpose.
Build your brand on the platform and present your product in the most attractive way that attracts customers and either answers their questions or instills a sense of desire.
Instagram offers a great platform with many purposes for video content marketing. You are able to choose between short form and long form video with the use of Stories, Live and IGTV. The benefit to this is that you have all your content on one platform – therefore decreasing the chance for any misdirect.
Stories
These are quick snippets that snaps a highlight of a key point of interest.
For example, say your incredible restaurant is gearing up for season with a new and exciting menu. Take a quick snap of the delicious meal and post it to your story with an appropriate voice over or text.
This will highlight to viewers that not only does your hotel have a restaurant but the food is divine too.
A great benefit of Instagram Stories is that you can save these in your highlights. While normal Instagram stories are only viewable for 24 hours, highlights can be made available indefinitely. Highlights can store your story posts for your viewers to go back and engage with. Instagram allows you to save different highlights, so you can use these to showcase different aspects of your business, such as sections touring different aspects of your hotel.
In the example below, Instagram highlights are used to showcase the town in which the B&B is located, the common areas at the property, the rooms, and the breakfast.
Lastly, Instagram Stories enables a direct point of contact with your followers by using a polling and question feature. Get to know what your followers are thinking, what are the looking forward to with your hotel, do they have any suggestions for improvements, what would make them stay at your hotel? These questions can all be answered through Instagram Stories!
IGTV
Instagram TV is a fairly new feature to the platform and is still building in momentum.
Think of the feature as your long form video platform. Instagram story videos can only last 15 seconds, but IGTV videos can last up to a 1 whole hour.
You can post your tours, informational content, or brand advertising as you would on your YouTube channel.
Instagram Live
Instagram Live is an instant and effective tool to engage with your viewers. Viewers can join in the live feed and ask question instantly.
The benefit here lies in the fact that not only do users get notified when you are going live but they are already intrigued by tuning into your live feed. You can go live for events, launches, a live look behind the scenes or sharing any ideas or thoughts with your followers. Your followers are exposed to your brand voice through a less invasive tone and is more authentic and engaging.
If you have a Facebook Business page for your hotel (and you should!), video content is a must!
Create awareness for your hotel through shareability. 92% of mobile users will share videos that they resonate with. Facebook is a great platform to enhance sharing as you can expect 1200% more shares opposed to your text and images content.
This simple video of a cozy fireplace and snow falling, for example, has 3 million views because so many viewers chose to share it. This video shares an experience and captures the essence of the location much better than a photo would… It’s simple, but it resonates with its audience.
This is a great example of shareable content – the type of content that Facebook users want to share… resulting in millions of views and organic reach (free views). By posting content that users WANT to share, you can reach an enormous audience without paying for those views.
(Source: Wordstream)
Here’s our top tip for Facebook videos: create content that’s engaging and ignites the emotions of the viewer. Make them envious of your town’s splendors and make them dream over your luxurious linens! These are the factors that will make them want to share your videos and book their next vacation with you.
- Your Website
If you’re not feeling the social media strategy for video content marketing, we get it – it’s a huge commitment! But keep in mind that there are other ways that you can develop your video strategy and reap the benefits!
By showcasing a video on your landing page, you can expect up to and 80% or more increase in conversion rates. Add some personality and authenticity to your About Us page or provide an augmented reality experience of your hotel through a virtual tour.
Each of these videos will highlight the personality of your hotel and provide insight into what the customer can look forward to.
- Your Newsletters
If you are wanting to boost your email open rates and click throughs, include videos newsletters is a great way to go!
A study by Wistia showed that emails that included a video improved engagement rates by 300%. Click-through rates were 3-4 times higher on these emails than emails without video!
Emails that include video generally see an increase reading times, click throughs and forwards. Even including “video” in the subject line will boost your engagement!
- But That’s Not All…
Platforms like Vimeo, LinkedIn and Twitter are all great platforms to choose from when sharing video content!
However, in our opinion, stick to the basics and to the ones that you know have reach. Choose your strengths and stick to it. Each platform is different and each platform has their benefits!
Video Marketing Strategies
Now that we’ve delved into why you need video content marketing and the different platforms, let’s get into the how.
At the end of the day, the one common goal across marketing is that you want to see an increase in sales. Am I wrong? Video marketing is probably your best bet at converting visiting customers to buying customers with shoppers being 1.81 times more likely to make a purchase after watching a video.
There are a few different ways you could incorporate video marketing into your strategies:
- The Influencer Video
If you’re combining influencers and videos into your marketing strategies, you have a winning combination!
Influencers have a wealth of trust and authenticity amongst their followers. By using video content to show off their time at your hotel, not only are you getting their seal of approval but their followers get to see more of your hotel than just a simple snapshot or flatlay.
Leveraging influencer partnerships is also great way to create quality content for your marketing channels without the budget to hire a professional photographer or videographer. In most cases, they will provide you with the content that you created, for you to use on your platforms as well.
- The Tour Video
Take your guests on a tour of your hotel! Show them the beauty that surrounds your location which photos just can’t capture. 360 degree videos are a great way to capture this!
Let’s talk a little about 360 degree videos, this is a great way to put your followers in the driver’s seat and offer a virtual reality experience. Let them choose their experience and enter the virtual world of your hotel.
Use videos these videos to highlight the special features, the bustling town, and luxuries comforts that make up your hotel.
- The 80% Video
This video strategy requires a little bit of homework but is so worth it! Dive into your history of customer queries, which ones are being repeated? What isn’t being communicated clearly enough to your customers? Have you got them? Good, let’s put those into a video known as the 80% video!
80% of first-time callers or enquirers ask the same questions. The 80% video takes these FAQs and puts into and attractive and engaging video. The video can be one video addressing all of the questions or look at doing one video per question.
Your visitors will now have one source of information to answer their questions instead of the back and forth your customer service department might get.
According to Wyzowl, 79% of consumers prefer watching video to reading about a product. To further emphasize this point, 80% of consumers believe having demonstration videos are helpful when making purchases.
(Source: Opt In Monster)
That’s a whole lot of potential leads that you could be converting just by answering some basic questions!
- The Get to Know Us Video
The power of video lies behind the fact that it has the ability to humanize a business. Video brings out your personality and charm – build up that trust and loyalty that we’re always talking about!
Take your viewers on a journey through your hotel, let them learn something new and speak to their desires. Make them feel as if they belong at your hotel because they know you so well and they trust that your service will be the best service out there.
- The Social Video
Connect and create a conversation with your customers through a quick Instagram Story or Instagram Live.
Show your followers what is happening around the hotel, if there are any new features being built or promotions that are running. You can link your promotions or hotel booking landing page to your video through the “swipe up” feature.
Have a quick check in with your followers by asking questions or creating polls – this will not only help with your own brand research but you can also connect with your followers and build that trust we keep going on about!
The social video is a friendly and engaging approach to interacting with your followers by opening up your communication channels.
We’ve covered a lot in this article and there is a lot of information to digest with video content marketing. However, don’t feel overwhelmed, you’ve got this!
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